Posts Tagged ‘review’

This free public seminar featuring Christine Lins, Executive Secretary of REN21 will provide insight into advances being made in renewable energy business and policy in both developed and developing economies and will position the Australian industry within this global context.

REN21’s Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) is the world’s most frequently referenced report on renewable energy business and policy. The most recent report, released in June this year, found that in 2011:

The 2012 GSR highlights the steady growth of renewables in all end-use sectors – power, heating and cooling and transport – and across energy markets, support policies, investment and technology.

Concurrent with these global developments have been significant changes in Australia’s clean energy industry with the introduction of the carbon price, the commencement of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the review of the Renewable Energy Target.

Cityfood Growers have a checklist on their blog to help those of us who still don’t have the perfect veggie garden(!) reassess what we want and plan for a better year.

Author Peter Kearney says “January is a great time to get your thinking into planning your food garden for the coming year. In my experience, good planning makes a huge difference to your success. It helps to open your awareness to new knowledge, as you have more an idea of what’s coming, rather than stumbling along. […] I know that is a lot of questions to work with, but they are all important when you do your plan. I work with these questions each year as I plan my own food gardens.”

The post includes a series of topic areas with several questions to answer in each area. Go through to the Cityfood Grower’s Organic Gardening blog for the full set of questions – not even half of them are included here:

Recap on last year – Be as objective as possible with yourself.

What crops grew well and crops that did not grow so well?

Were you being pragmatic enough with your time, i.e. did you hang onto to crops that didn’t produce much and took up a lot of your time and space?

Your garden space

Can you now manage a bigger food garden, if so design the layout of your new garden and use the right principles for layout?

Can you improve the design of your existing garden, for example more efficient use of space, better sun and drainage?

Soil fertility

What is the state of your soil and is it appropriate for the crops you want to grow?

Are you making compost and if so, are your methods producing enough and of good quality?

Are you timing your compost making to fit your maximum planting time?

Planting plan

For your vegetable/herb garden, have you developed a rotation plan for your beds, leave some space for perennials such as herbs?

Have you chosen the predominant crops for each of your vegetable garden beds and worked out the month of planting using the ideal months?

Have you chosen companion plants and space filler now that you have chosen your predominant crops for your beds?

Garden management

Is your garden easy to manage in its current layout and design, if not think about how to make it easier to work with and at the same time generating higher quality soil?

Are you overusing mulch and could you use more living crops for mulching such as green manure and edible companions?

Pests and diseases

For your vegetable garden, are you using companion planting to reduce pests?

Is soil quality your primary pest and disease reduction strategy, if not then make it so?

Your well being

Have you developed an awareness of how you want to feel in your food garden, as your feelings have a big impact on how the garden grows?

Will you create space in your busy day to sit in your garden to observe and contemplate?

Throughout 2010, our response to climate change has often felt like being on a roller coaster. But is it all bad news? To examine the implications of the past years’ events, the Carbon Innovators Network is hosting Taking Stock – our end of year event that will look back on 2010 and consider what next year might achieve.

Taking Stock will include a panel of leading practitioners with scientific, regulatory, policy, business and communications backgrounds to stimulate a moderated discussion chaired by Kinesis Director Nick Rowley.

• John Merritt: CEO of the EPA Vic, Victoria’s environmental regulator. • Rebecca Falkingham: Director Policy and Projects, Victorian Office of Climate Change and one of the leading contributors to the development of the Victorian Government’s Climate Change White Paper. • Liz Minchin: author of the book Screw Light Bulbs: Smarter Solutions for Australia’s Future, which offers positive, credible answers to how Australia can get serious about tackling climate change. • Mike Raupach: Fellow at the Australian Academy of Science and one of the lead authors of the Academy’s The Science of Climate Change, Questions and Answers publication. • Bruce Donnison: General Manager of Sustainability at Fonterra, the world’s leading exporter of dairy products responsible for more than a third of the international dairy trade.

We want to hear from you too! To help guide the event, we are seeking your response as a Carbon Innovators Network member to a series of questions about climate change in 2010. Your response to these questions will help guide and inform the session – check out the online forum for the questions.